Gabbin' with Giff

coming up for air

2010-12-26T18:05:00.000-08:00

Short Stuff is growing wonderfully. She has two teeth and has decided she doesn't need to get any more. We're stuck at two. She is babbling more and more every day and starting to take things away from big sis. Of course, big sis doesn't not stand for this and promptly retrieves whatever it is that lil sis has taken. She is such a happy baby and normally quite content. What a joy!

Half Pint is doing quite well. She continues to amaze me every day with how much she retains and repeats. :/ She's such a blessing. I asked her if she could say "Thank you God for Jesus." To which she replied, "I can't. I don't have the words inside me." I learn so much from her daily.

School was crazy! Or shall I say, "Going to school while nurturing a marriage and two children, scrubbing toilets, cleaning showers, mopping floors, grocery shopping, cooking dinner, washing laundry, etc was quite tough. For those of you that didn't know, I started attending classes along with my husband in August of 2010. What a wild ride it turned out to be and I am (almost) ready to get back at it again. I thought I would hop on here and post a few recent pictures for you to enjoy. (Ya know, all two of ya.)

2010-09-23T19:53:00.000-07:00

This video was just too precious not to share, but I cannot seem to find a way to flip it. Just turn your head to the left and enjoy!

frustrating

2010-09-05T21:28:00.000-07:00

One of the most frustrating parts of being the youngest would have to be one of the best parts about being a mom...

...hand-me-downs!

pardon my rambling

2010-09-05T20:25:00.000-07:00

I have sat down to update this blog a couple of times.

I have had a few things happen that I think, "That's a 'blog-worthy' moment."

Those moments haven't really ended up on here for one of two reasons: my memory is very poor and my time to blog is very limited.

I thought with hubby hunting and girls sleeping now would be a great time to have some chips and salsa and shed a little light on the things that have been going on around here.

Hubby and I both started back to school this week. Neither of us with any real direction. We are just trying to get our feet wet and hopefully a major focus with jump out at us.

We have a couple times a week that our classes are a mere 10 minutes apart and we have to swap strollers, baby carriers or car keys and then he heads to class whilst I head back home with the girls. We are slowly figuring it out.

I started the week at 12 hours and quickly cut back to 9 as I realized that my classes Tuesday and Thursday would overlap hubby's classes by 15 minutes. Half Pint is just able to go potty all by herself...it would be too much to ask of her to take care of Short Stuff also. I figured it best that I drop the class so I can watch her myself. :)

We have some wonderful neighbors that just moved in a couple doors down from us. They have 3 kiddos. Half Pint is thrilled to have friends close to her. It's quite nice for hubby and me to have someone to talk with and get to know as well!

Half Pint has been having a rough time lately. I'm not sure if there's something/anything I can blame it on. I think she's just.....two. She's not been wanting to go to bed lately. With any normal child it might not be as frustrating, but with breath-holding in our lives it makes ordinary two year old things hard to handle. We have managed to plow through bed-time and tonight was much better. Started out with the screaming, but thankfully it didn't last as long. I'm certain she's just trying to test me and see if she is in charge...thankfully I'm still the one in charge.

Short Stuff is doing quite well. She gets more and more interactive everyday. It's hard to believe she's 4.5 months! I'm certain she's bigger than her older sister was at this age. For her 4 month appointment she was at 15lbs. I tried to put an outfit on her that was mine and I couldn't even squeeze her into it. I'm thinking the outfit looks lots bigger on the hanger; by the time I tried it on HP it was too small for her as well.

I bought all of the groceries to start up with once a month cooking again. I had big plans of pulling an all night-er to cook everything since hubby is out hunting. That's not happened and I'm bound and determined to not let all of that food spoil! Tomorrow?? We shall see how it unfolds!

I came across two chairs that someone was going to throw out. I thought for sure I would have a purpose for them...and I did. I've been wanting a place to sit outside and haven't quite been able to set aside anything for (expensive) outdoor furniture. I thought for sure there would be something I could cover them with that I could put outside.

And then came outdoor canvas!

Here are my newly recovered out door chairs and it only cost me $8 for the material to recover them!

Well after all of that, I'm ready for bed. Guess chopping onions will have to wait once again!

2010-09-03T22:19:00.000-07:00

I think they look a bit alike. What do you think?

oh the questions...

2010-08-19T18:38:00.000-07:00

A: "Where's that girl with the balloon going?"

Me: "I don't know."

A: (growing irritated) "Where's that girl going?"

Me: "I don't really know."

A: "Where's she GOING?"

Me: "Child, I do not know."

A: (very frustrated) "WHERE'S SHE GOING?"

Me: "A party."

A: "Oh.......can I go?"

first bath in the big tub

2010-08-08T20:56:00.000-07:00

We spent most of our day today at a festival and came home with one tired puppy dog. I decided to save myself some trouble/time and put both of the girls in the tub together. Not too bad and you might be able to tell: Short Stuff really liked it.

2010-08-08T20:51:00.000-07:00

I got this idea in a magazine. My sis saw the same one and bought too much sand for her boys. I ended up getting the bag of sand she had left over and we were able to make a little "sand box" for free! Love it. Not as messy as her sitting in a sand box.

Such a goober! This is her "cheese face."

weekend hikes

2010-08-08T20:44:00.001-07:00

We have started hiking on our Saturday mornings together. We pack our lunch and out the door we go!

This was last weekend's hike. Hubby was taking Half Pint down to the water to throw rocks.

This picture really doesn't do justice to the beauty of this hillside...

Right about here hubby started to sing, "The hills are alive..." Not exactly the tune that I remember hearing, but the words were right on!

So blessed to live here!

I can't keep up....

2010-07-22T21:15:00.000-07:00

with baby books.

with blogs.

with housework.

with friends.

Right now our life is a little busy and I'm soaking up as much of my family as I can.

2010-06-27T14:21:00.000-07:00

Hanging out on A's "big gorr" (big girl) bed watching daddy hang curtain rods.

My grandmother confirmed the fact this morning that T's cheeks do not look this big in person! I guess it's right the camera adds 10 pounds! :) She's absolutely precious. You can tell she's her daddy's daughter in this one last photo!

2010-06-26T06:48:00.000-07:00

Eep! It's been a while! With a move, a baby, a (too short) visit from MIL and her "friend" (wink, wink) and lots of other changes, I'm finally getting around to updating the 5 of you that read my blog! :) Needless to say, we have been quite busy.

Summer session at school starts on Monday for hubby. That will be a change of pace. We're in married student housing on campus. It's ~~very small and cramped~~ cozy, but little different from that which we are accustomed.

Both of our girls are growing like weeds!

T is already up to 12lbs at her 2 month checkup. She's already able to blow raspberries (mimicking me) and she's coo-ing and goo-ing up a storm. She doesn't like to be hot, much like her big sister was at this age, and she loathes gas. Unfortunately with the family she comes from, I can't see the gas going away any time soon...she's going to have to learn to embrace that one. T has also been sleeping like a champ! She has gone 12 hour stretches a few nights already. If she keeps that up she'll be ready to go into her crib in the same room as big sis.

A is loving being a big sister. Though I'm pretty sure she thinks the baby is just my play thing that cries every now and then. We try to give her special attention such as daddy taking her to a movie (her first) at the theater. 3D even! Her vocabulary increases everyday. A is just about fully potty trained. We still wear overnight diapers in her (new) big girl bed! We thought that transition would be rough, but it has gone exceptionally well. She only gets out of bed every-once-in-a-while. Really, she lays there and screeches until one of us comes to get her in the morning.

I'm doing my best to keep up with all that's going on around me. I'm really loving being close to family again. I think I need to tone it down a bit with the budget being busted every month up here! :) Trying to down size and we've already had one yard sale, two weekends in a row! (That's hard work, thanks sis for all your help!)

God has continued to be faithful! Every time I begin to worry about health care, finances, etc He shows just how much he cares and provides everything we need at just the right time! (Not my time, of course, but the right time.)

I'll leave you with a moment that A and I shared just a couple of days ago.

I was changing Teeny's diaper and Big sis comes to me after having played in her room solo for a few minutes.

A: "You not spank me mom, you not." Me: "No, I'm not going to, baby. (Wondering why she would bring that up) Why? What did you do?" A: "We not frow fings, mommy." Could you be referring to the rule we have about not throwing things down the stairs? Why is that wooden dowel that was once in your hand now on the middle of the stairs? She's a handful!

And the moment I get on here to update, blogger is being silly and won't let me upload pics! bah! I'll get some up here as soon as I can!

It's a....

2010-05-03T20:18:00.001-07:00

GIRL!

Teegan Hawley

Born April 24, 2010 at 10:09 pm

8 lbs 6 oz 21 in

Welcome to the world precious child!

Easter Sunday

2010-04-15T20:20:00.001-07:00

Ain't she cute?!

The hubs didn't get in until the day after Easter, so it was just the ~~two~~ three of us in this shot. Actually, I guess the third didn't make it into the picture either. :)

Notice of Eviction

2010-03-21T12:25:00.000-07:00

I, the landlord (mommy) am issuing 30 day notice for EVICTION. Tenant (baby) will have 30 days in which he or she can either gather belongings and promptly vacate the premises, or wait until the final day. After which, he or she will be physically removed from the property.

Tenant is being evicted due to breech of contract and destruction of property. Expansions only to the FRONT of the house, within reasonable limits, were discussed. Not only have these limits been exceeded, but additions to the back of the house were also made!

Remodeling and gutting of the home was never approved, nor was changing the initial layout and base structure. And due to property damage, there are now leaks in both the upper AND lower levels of the home. On top of which, the landlord has received numerous complaints about nightly disturbances.

After 30 days from this day, non-compliance with the notice will result in his or her immediate removal at my discretion.

**My sister posted this not too long before my precious nephew was born and I thought it was comical and appropriate! :) She ultimately gave credit to Baby Center.**

Irish Princess

2010-03-17T20:58:00.000-07:00

Finally! I remembered to dress my child in the appropriate outfit (sent faithfully by my mother-in-law) for the holiday! Sometimes I dress her in it a couple of days afterward and snap a few pics. I'm posting this tonight simply to prove to myself that I did it!

Unfortunately, it's not the pair of pants that she sent as she wore 3 pair of green pants today.

Today was an off day for Little Bit wanting to use the potty.

She also received a crown that said "Irish Princess." Yesterday when she put it on she danced around the house chanting "I'm the king, I'm the king." This morning when she got up she asked, "Where's my king?" I told her it was upstairs and she went in search of it. I heard her coming down the stairs shortly after. (She's insistent about going down the stairs like a big girl now.) She got to the last stair where the railing runs out and took a little tumble. Her heart broke in two as she realized and exclaimed "I broke it!" (She made me want to shed a tear.) When I finally got her calmed down by telling her I may be able to fix it, she told me that she'd hurt her hand, but not until her "king" was taken care of.

I did the best I could, but forgot to add the "king" in with the pictures I took this after noon. Hey, I did good to get her in the clothes and get a picture taken and get said pictures posted to here so quickly...what more do you expect of me?!

"Cheese!"

"fly copper"

2010-03-15T09:27:00.000-07:00

We went with dad to do his check ride. Mainly because nearby is the only Chili's in the state...well....there might be one other, but this was a perfect opportunity. We went and did a little shopping whilst he was flying and then came back just in time for him to land and give Little Bit some time in the cockpit. Then hit Chili's and soon headed for home.

There is a small airplane that sits next to the helicopter in the hangar. She asked if she could fly it and my mom told her that it was broken. To which she replied, "I fix it." I asked her how she was going to tackle that, and she said, "You help me?" Umm...nope, sorry kiddo!

"Ride copper?!"

Mimi and Half Pint watching Botz land in front of the hangar.

Not sure just where this face came from. Who am I kidding?! She's my child.

sink time

2010-03-15T09:10:00.001-07:00

Half Pint's latest obsession is the sink. I turn it on as low as it will go and she stands there and fills up measuring cups and spoons and "washes dishes."

I told her to say, "cheese" for daddy. I didn't know there was a "p" in cheese, but this pic makes it look like she found one in there.

This has given me great motivation to keep the kitchen sink empty as she gets up there without my knowledge and plays in the dirty dishes. Eep!

cheesing for daddy

2010-03-13T17:35:00.000-08:00

I took this with my cell and sent it to my hubby. For some reason he was unable to see the picture on his phone, so now you all get to enjoy it! :)

what I've been hearing lately

2010-03-10T20:49:00.000-08:00

"You're enormous!"

"When are you due?"

"You're getting so big."

"Let me guess...you've only got a couple of days left."

"How much longer?"

"You're huge!"

"I bet you're ready to be done."

I really don't think that I'm that big. I also didn't think I walked around looking as miserable as people's comments make me seem.

Hhumph....gotta love the third trimester...

Any guesses?

2010-03-02T22:02:00.000-08:00

Baby #2 is doing very well. Moving....like a kung-fu fighter! My appointment that I've neglected (until now) to post about went great.

I'm really liking the midwife that I've chosen and I'm certainly excited that she will be the provider attending the birth! Every time I meet with her it's as if I'm her only patient of the day. She always listens to everything I say and answers all of my questions thoroughly.

The baby's heart rate has normally been in the 140's. I'm sure everyone has their guesses as to what that means. Unfortunately, one says "Oh, if it's high, it's a girl. If it's low it's a boy." Then the next proclaims, "You know, if it's low it's a girl. If it's high, it's a boy." Therefore, I don't truly know what the wife's tale might be. We'll all just have to wait and see...trust me, I know just as much as you do!

I'm measuring spot on with my gestation. 32-33cm at 32 weeks and 3 days. Even with that I have people saying that my belly looks lots bigger than it did with Half Pint. However, with her I always measured 1-2 weeks bigger than my gestation.

so many unknowns

What will baby be? boy or girl?

How much will baby weigh? lots like mommy and daddy did or on the lighter side like big sis?

Babe's hair? dark or light, curly or straight?

When? before due date or after? or well after like big sis?

Do you have any guesses? I'm interested to hear your opinion.

*Even if you've never posted before, you don't have to have an account or anything fancy just click the link below that says "comment" and do so anonymously. Just don't forget to put your name somewhere in the comment.*

look at "hair" go

2010-03-02T11:40:00.000-08:00

This girl's hair is growing, growing, growing.

I must admit:

I. Love. Her. Hair.

Is that vain?

I realized that she has the same outfit on as she did in the last photos I posted of her.

We do laundry often and she has many more outfits than just this one.

Her daddy (and myself) loves her in green, so she wears this one frequently.

Praise The Lord (even for the small stuff)

2010-02-28T07:29:00.000-08:00

I was just looking back on my posts and realized I hadn't included the following blurb from one of our mornings and I want to make sure I don't forget it.

I went in to get Half Pint when she woke up. I asked if she wanted eggs and toast for breakfast. To which she replied, "Umm....I wann poptarts an' milk."

"I'm pretty sure we can do that," I said.

"Paise a Lord!!" she emphatically exclaimed with both hands raised high.

What a great lesson to be learned! Even when the smallest of things go my way, let me always remember to praise Him.

Have I mentioned how much I love this kid?!

"Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!" Psalm 150:6

Flashback Friday

2010-02-19T21:05:00.001-08:00

This little girl changes so much every day.

a simple prayer

2010-02-17T08:40:00.000-08:00

"Dea God,
Thank you coffees
Thank you Bots
Thank you Mimi
Amen."

one year ago

2010-02-14T21:02:00.000-08:00

One year ago today we were driving home from the hospital. We had just finished up the (hands down) worst 48 hours of my life. Riding in the ambulance that day was horrible. I had no idea what was going on or what was going to happen.

I remember the whole thing all too clearly.

I remember holding her (still) seizing little body until her little lungs had gotten too tired to keep working.

I remember laying her down so they could breath for her.

I remember holding my hands under her shoulders, cradling her head and telling her to "take big girl breaths for mommy."

I remember them cutting of the bright pink shirt she'd been wearing all day.

I remember trying to figure out how I would tell her daddy (in Iraq at the time) that she hadn't made it. All the while, praying that God would spare her.

I remember trying to compose myself for my little girl, but in complete panic on the inside.

I remember being so glad to see her bright blue eyes open again and the smallest of smiles on her face.

I'm so glad that we've come so far. Our gorgeous girl turned two in January and has been doing very well. We still struggle with fits, (my) fear, and breath-holding. We take each day as it comes and thank the Lord for every one of them. I love this girl and cannot wait to see the plans that God has in store for her.

drinkin' coffee

2010-02-14T20:26:00.000-08:00

The other day the coffee pot sounded and Little Bit shouts "Praise the Lord!"

Guess that tells a little about what the drink of choice is around this house!

She asked for some coffee the other day (no worries, she's never really had any) and I heated water and made her some apple cider.

This may be a new favorite.

2010-02-10T19:01:00.000-08:00

Just thought I'd share some pictures of my gorgeous little girl. This was in the back yard of our "old" house. (Still feels like we're going to leave any day now and go back to it....guess that's not going to happen.)

____

We had to leave church early tonight to come home and get to bed. Thankfully the house is about 3 blocks from the church building. She was just getting a little too excitable and I was nervous to see what would happen if we'd stayed. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't scared of her still. I'm doing better just not quite able to let my guard down yet. I'm really missing being in class tonight, but that's the price I sometimes have to pay for being a mother...and I'm totally alright with that.

____

This little girl has started talking sooo much. She will talk your ear off if you will let her. The other day I'd asked her for a kiss and acted sad when she told me, "no." I pursued a kiss yet another time and she put her hand in my face and said to me, "No. Go cry!" I must admit I was saddened by this. I can only hope she will have the same gusto when presented with the same situation at 18 years of age.

Before we left Tennessee we were driving to a friend's house to drop her off whist we packed the house. She had a spray bottle with water in it and was spraying it in her car seat. I turned around to tell her to stop. Her response was, "Mommy, close-it eyes. Lay down." I told her that I wasn't going to close my eyes nor lay down and she needed to stop. Then she raised her hand, pointed out the window and shouted, "Look!! Moose!" How might you have responded to that one?

Yesterday we were in the car going into town and she says "Let's go! Train's leavin'."

At church when we first got here, there was a deer in the parking lot as we were leaving. It was brought to her attention by mom or dad. When she finally spotted the small buck she simply states, "Look at that. A reindeer."

Some days, I don't know what to do with her cute-ness.

ten things

2010-02-03T20:58:00.000-08:00

1: I really should be in bed, but I'm waiting for my husband to call me back. His phone died and I'm sure he knows just where his charger is located.

2: I need to get in touch with a Hypnobirthing teacher in the area. My sister recently used this method in childbirth and I saw a notable difference in her ability to relax when she applied the technique.

3: Half Pint is trying her hardest to potty train herself. She does really well in spurts. I've decided not to push. I'm hoping if she does it on her own we'll have less of a chance of regression when the new baby arrives.

4: I've become quite fond of my morning coffee and pop tarts. Hey...they aren't that bad. They are organic, you know.

5: Video monitors are the best invention ever! I could sit and watch my little one sleep for hours on end.

6: I need to start re-portioning my meals as I'm quickly running out of space and had to stand for most of bible class this evening just to feel as though I was not going to rupture.

7: Is thinking the decision between new jewelry and a new S.onicare toothbrush (purchased with my "fun" money, of course) should not be this difficult. What a dork.

8: I really am trying to blog every couple of days. However, I'm finding it difficult to come up with content. This might be the reason for this totally random post.

9: I'm really hoping that we can go into town very soon in order to get more of those wonderful pop tarts.

10: I really don't think he can find his charger, so I might as well just head to bed...

I cannot believe she's two!

2010-02-02T12:47:00.000-08:00

Yes, this is a bit late as her birthday was just over two weeks ago. However, we were packing the house all day on her birthday and she spent the whole day with friends of ours. I felt a tad bit of guilt and decided that I would have a little party for her once we arrived to mom and dad's house.

I love this little girl!

(This is her telling everyone, "I'm two!" with one finger on each hand. Putting up two on one hand is rather difficult, you know.)

Everything went very nicely.

That is, until the gifts started to come out.

Hubby and I got her a shopping cart with little grocery items in it.

She loved it!

So glad, but she loved it so much that she didn't want anyone to touch it. She spent all of her time and energy trying to keep everyone away from that cart.

I opened her gifts for her and tried to make them look more appetizing than the cart...

...didn't work out so well.

Is it rude to wait an open the gifts after everyone has gone home?

Not Me! Monday Whatever Day I Want

2010-02-02T07:39:00.000-08:00

I thought of these yesterday, that's gotta count for something.

I was helping my mother prepare dinner for women's bible study last night. In an attempt to get more accomplished I had given Little Bit a bowl and she was "creating" with the salt and pepper shakers. I certainly did not allow her to eat her "creation" especially after she'd added sugar to the mix. There's no reason for a child to eat salt, pepper, and sugar out of a bowl...yuck! (She did eat more of her carrots and chicken than her granulated concoction.)

Some days with a two year old are just no fun. However, my two year old can sometimes be quite strong-willed. I've got a grasp on how to handle her. It was not me that had at least 30 minute time-out battle with her yesterday. She sat right in her chair when I asked and said "sorry" immediately after the "beeps." hmm....must have been my mother at which Little Bit was screaming, and throwing the wooden time-out chair against the wall. Nope, not me! I've got a grasp on how to handle her, remember?

Last night, after bible study, I noticed a little pink car seat with Pez, peanuts, and a few pennies nestled inside. I had a little giggle. It would never have been me to say "When I have kids, I'll never throw food and snacks at them just to keep them content in their car seat for a short car ride." (I was such a good mother, before I actually became one.)

debt free

2010-01-26T07:36:00.000-08:00

We are now officially 100% debt free! This is such a good feeling. In October we paid off the last debt aside from the house.

Soon after, we put our house on the market. After just two weeks and two days we got TWO offers on our home in the same day!

What a blessing in the housing market today.

As of January 19th of this year we closed on the house and now owe no one any money!

As far as our baby steps go we are currently on baby step 3: 3-6 months of expenses in a savings account. (fully funded emergency fund)

We currently have 3 months and are working on getting the rest funded by April of this year.

The plan as of now is to rent and put away as much money as we can toward the purchase of a home. I would like to pay cash for a home. I know this is an attainable goal, it's just a matter of how long it would take us.

If we could find a stealin' deal on a house I would not pass that up but for now I would like to save 100% for the purchase of a home. No official timeline has been set on this goal as I'm still working on getting someone else in the home to go along with that big dream.

(Just in case you didn't know them or had forgotten them) Here are Dave Ramsey's baby steps to financial freedom:

Baby Step 1: ~~1,000 to start and Emergency Fund~~

Baby Step 2: ~~Pay off all debt using the debt snowball~~

Baby Step 3: 3-6 months of expenses in savings-3 months down, aiming for totally funded by April 2010

Baby Step 4: Invest 15% for retirement-we are currently putting a minimum of 13% (more at times) into an investment. Guess it's time to kick this up a notch!

Baby Step 5: College Funding-We need to talk a little more about this one. I personally think that a little financial contribution from the student helps with how much they apply themselves in class. Not really sure just how much we will be contributing, but thanks to DR, we can use the financial calculators on mytotalmoneymakeover dot com to find out just what we should be putting toward this step.

Baby Step 6: ~~Pay off home early~~ Some could consider this accomplished, however, we have no home now! I would say this is completed more so when we have funding for or a paid for home.

Baby Step 7: Build Wealth and GIVE! This has already been started on as far as the giving part. It's so exciting to look around and see those that need a helping hand and don't even know that you're the one that offered it! What a blessing.

I'm so excited to reach financial freedom in our lives.

I say all of these things in the hopes that our situation can be motivating to you and show you that it really can be done!

It's also been so nice to not have nearly as many addresses to change with this move...no one is after us for money!

no milk

2010-01-13T17:55:00.000-08:00

With all that we've got going on lately, it's easy to get wrapped up into the mindset of "this will never happen." Or "we'll never be able to pull this off."

God has done so much for us.

Sadly, that's easy for me to put at the back of my mind.

Things were going well and I had a pretty good attitude.

Until today.

Hubby was supposed to get his orders and get to transportation to figure out how all of this moving business is going to go down.

That didn't happen.

Also found out that his application didn't get all the way to the department it was supposed to get to.

Earlier today I poured Half Pint our last drop of milk. No big deal, I'll just ask Hubby to bring a gallon home with him.

Then, Hubby calls and informs me he'll be a while. Like an after-bedtime while.

My attitude begins to head south.

We'll never get out of here, we won't be able to close on our house in time, we won't have a job when we get out, we won't make our flight next week, I'm not going to be able to get the baby to sleep without any milk!

BLAH!

OK

Focus.

What do I need to do right now? Get the baby to bed...I have to find milk. Go to the neighbor's house.

He just gave his last drop to his little girl and he's hoping his wife remembers to bring a gallon home.

He's in the same boat!

Nuts.

What now?

Call Kim. They live right down the road; church starts in half an hour; they're big cereal people; they've got to have milk.

She's on the line.

They've already left the house.

Nuts.

She tells me to come outside and bring a cup. "We're almost to your house," she says.

Huh?

They had a gallon of milk in the car with them.

Who takes a gallon of milk to church with them?

And this is where God speaks to me saying, "I will give you what you need when I know you need it."

"I will take care of you."

As I type this my attitude is returning to positive and I'm reminded that everything will work out. Just because it's not the way I think it should work out means nothing.

Tomorrow I will go to buy milk and boxes. And get started on moving us out of this house.

Knowing that it will all work out and God will provide just what we need and so much more.

Not Me! Monday

2010-01-11T09:39:00.000-08:00

Are you feeling a little guilty because you let your child eat Nerds candy off of the dirty floor in the airport? Or because you got frustrated with your husband for flicking toothpaste on the bathroom mirror you'd just cleaned just before you did the same crazy maneuver yourself? Don't be! Not me! Monday was developed out of MckMama's desire to admit some of her imperfections and reveal a few moments that we'd all rather forget. Join in, you might find it a little therapeutic.

I'll start...

When returning home on our flight on Saturday I was trying to distract Little Bit and have her look out the window as we took off in Denver. It was not us that saw the man in the window seat scratching his brain through the best route: his nose. Nope! We looked over and saw the beautiful Rocky Mountains disappear as we took off into the sky.

I get a little nauseated when I fly. I always make sure that I've got d.ramamine with me for this reason. I also make sure that I have water with me to down that bitter pill. I did not have to pull the lid off of my child's juice bottle and down the pill with some of her juice. No, not me, I politely asked the busy flight attendant if she could grab me a shot of water with which to take the pill. I'd never drink a child's diluted juice! Yuck!

I'm so thankful for gracious friends that let me borrow things. There's no way that I would keep said things for waaayy too long. I returned the carpet cleaner that I borrowed from a friend ~~last June~~ a couple of months ago just after I used it. It was not me that paid someone a couple of weeks ago to shampoo my carpets. And during nap time today I'm going to have time to read, rest and relax. I do not need to wash and prepare the carpet cleaner to be returned to my dear friend before both of us move out of this state! (that one kinda hurts to admit...)

"pay no"

2009-12-26T18:36:00.000-08:00

Little Bit has really enjoyed going out and playing in the snow ("pay no") whilst we've been in the colder regions of the US. Unfortunately, we haven't seen near the amounts of snow as the towns even 15-30 minutes from here.

The other morning Hubby was suiting up to take Half Pint out and I told him not to stay out too long as the outside temp had gone five degrees below zero. My hubby, being from the warmer regions of the US, only lasted a mere 2.5 minutes outside. Needless to say, Half Pint was not nearly as reluctant to come back inside this time.

one expressive girl

2009-12-26T18:17:00.000-08:00

I didn't need a quick shutter for this photo...this face stuck for at least a few moments.

bakin' cookies

2009-12-26T18:01:00.000-08:00

getting to enjoy the best part...

not quite sure if she's going to get in trouble for partaking in this cookie dough goodness...

"OK, where do I start?"

our finished product....

pumpkin raisin cookies

such a smart girl

2009-12-05T13:03:00.000-08:00

We have our computer set up to show the pictures stored as our screen saver. This photo flashed across the screen and I asked Little Bit, "Who's that?"

To which she replied, "bay sitter...tummy."

What a smart girl!

Our ultrasound was last Monday. Everything went very well and looked great. It was so great to see our little nugget moving around in there.

Baby certainly takes after daddy; every time the "camera" would get close to the face, Baby would quickly turn away.

I can't wait to meet this little one face to face.

Don't ask for names or sex; we aren't telling and we don't even know!

Christmas Cards

2009-11-28T11:34:00.000-08:00

It's that time again and I'm totally pumped! I actually ordered Christmas cards this year. In all of our married life I have done this once. I'm terrible at doing things ahead of time and I didn't really want to pay for them. This year I found a deal for free picture cards; I just had to pay shipping. So I took Half Pint out back and started snapping. I'll share later which photo I used for the actual card, or you'll see it when you get one! :) That is, if I have your address...

"Peter jelly"

2009-11-22T16:07:00.000-08:00

Half Pint is talking quite a bit. She really loves "Peter jelly" (peanut butter and jelly) sandwiches and makes lots and lots of "broccabi" (broccoli) in her small kitchen oven. I cannot believe she'll soon be two! It just hit me that her birthday will be here before we know it.
She enjoys to "talk-a-daddy" on the phone. "Ah you!" (I love you) "Da day!" (have a good day) "Lay der!" (see you later)

When she gets a glimpse of my bare belly she often wants to look at "bay brudder" or "bay sit-ter."

She is quick to proclaim when she's passed gas with a loud "toooot?!" To which I normally respond, "Say excuse me." "Cube keem." or "sooze you." (Even if she was the one doing the tooting.) :)

No one is really sure where "draank" (drink, very drawn out southern style) came from as neither her father nor I say words in such a fashion.

After giving you something she typically responds with "daynt you, wah kah." (thank you, you're welcome)

Her sense of humor is developing quite nicely and she's constantly making us laugh. Her cheery personally and wonderful smile keep us captivated daily. I love watching her grow.

curls

2009-11-22T16:00:00.000-08:00

I'm so in love with this girl and her curls...

lazy, dress-yourself kind of day

2009-11-19T08:46:00.000-08:00

Monday was a super busy day for us filled with grocery shopping, checking out books at the library, getting a shot at the hospital :(, coffee break :), cleaning, and baking.

Tuesday we decided to take a little bit of a break. Since I've not yet organized this mess:

(clothes that are too small/summer clothes)

Believe it, or not, they were all neatly folded in a ~~nice stack~~ heap on her rocking chair. Little Bit loves to play in things I'd really rather her not. However, can I really blame her for playing in something that I've neglected to care for? Not really.

This was the outfit she compiled for the day:

Of course there is a really cute purple shirt and salmon pair of pants underneath what she'd chosen for herself.

And of course the lazy part:

Whilst I should have been caring for this...

We were vegging out watching V.eggie T.ales and eating G.oldfish.

Don't judge...

buh-bye yellow

2009-11-12T19:20:00.000-08:00

In our attempts to get our house ready for the market, we have decided that painting is absolutely necessary, as construction paint is all that coated 70% of our walls. For those of you that don't know, it's totally un-washable and really boring. I really enjoyed the sunny, bright, yellow walls in my dinning room. Sadly, it did not go very well with the color we'd chosen for the rest of the main areas of the house. Yesterday I said "good-bye" to my cheery yellow walls.

"Sorry, Mommy."

a fresh coat

2009-11-12T19:16:00.000-08:00

...of paint. What a difference it makes! I'm only wishing we'd done it over two years ago when we first moved in...

talkin with gramma

2009-11-07T17:55:00.000-08:00

Talking to gramma over the webcam.

I just love her to pieces!

Pumpkin Farm

2009-11-07T15:04:00.000-08:00

We have a wonderful pumpkin farm about 10 minutes from our house. We took Little Bit last year, but she didn't really care all that much. This year she was excited to see all of the animals. They had lots of animals a zebra included. Unfortunately when we got to the zebra, she was more fixated on the chickens. Oh well! We picked out several small gourds ("gours") with which she still plays.

Silly Face

Zacchaeus-had to be put down just today. He broke his leg badly when he got caught in the barn. :(

Hubby called this big boy in...he comes to "Elvis." :)

I know, I know

2009-11-07T14:55:00.000-08:00

It's been forever! I'm trying to get caught up on things. Now that I have a month worth of food in my freezer, I might have a bit more time for other things! ha We'll see how that works out. So many things have happened since I last posted: pumpkin farm, Halloween, and a new baby nephew! I'm going to get working on more posts and hopefully get on with Not Me! Monday again.

after much pressure...

2009-10-01T19:31:00.000-07:00

...maybe only pressure from one person, but I'm ~~certain~~ hoping the rest of you would like to hear from me as well.

Me and Little Bit have been hanging around the house, mostly. With only one vehicle and hubby working pretty solid 10-12 hour days, we have to find things around the house and neighborhood to keep us occupied.

I have been feeling quite yucky lately and haven't been sleeping very well. Certainly tired, so not for a lack of trying. I'm hoping that the second trimester (beginning this coming Sunday) will bring more sleep and less nausea. As for now, I will continue to try and get naps in as often as Little Bit.

We have found a new love for the library. Picking up 10 books at a time and even a few DVDs. They didn't have any V.eggie T.ales this time, so I'm giving Baby E.instein a try...I'm hoping they don't bore her. It's usually a nice little treat for her and me, both. :)

And without further delay, probably the whole reason some of you stopped by, not to hear me ramble, but to see the most recent pics of the gorgeous little thing I get to call my child....

liking the looks of our whole wheat blender waffles (more complete post on that to come later)

hanging out with the twins enjoying a popsicle at Mimi and Botz' house

totally diggin' the "sha-sha" lately

plopping in front of the computer

running

2009-08-27T20:43:00.000-07:00

I was totally getting back into this whole running scene and boom! positive preggo test. I did run a 5k this past weekend and placed second in my age group. I was super excited, especially being 6 weeks pregnant. I plan to continue running as long as I can. My plan was to run a half marathon in November with these girls and a couple others, however, that run is being down-graded to a walk. I might run a bit here and there, but don't want to push myself that much for obvious reasons. :)

plans for April 2010

2009-08-25T09:29:00.001-07:00

No lack of excitement for our household. Next April will contain an exit from the military, a big move across the country, and now a brand new baby!

LOVE this laugh

2009-08-19T18:28:00.000-07:00

finances

2009-08-18T21:00:00.000-07:00

It is with immense joy that I tell you all...we are sooo close to being debt free I can taste it! We have one month, possibly less until our final debt (our pick-up) is paid off! Never again will we purchase a brand new vehicle. We'll let someone else take that initial depreciation and then we'll buy it from them. :)

Our budget is going well. We have largely kept to it minus a couple of totally random things that I'm sure we'll come up with a category for next month, or not because the nature of their randomness.

Aside from our emergency fund we have funds set aside for new tires for ~~this silly truck we paid too much for~~ our only vehicle. It's so nice to actually plan ahead and not worry where the money will come from. Trips-tires, doctor bills-insurance...you know it's coming, why not set the money aside monthly.

After this (baby step #2) is complete, we will be moving on to BS #3: 3-6 months of expenses in a savings account. This is especially important for me as my hubby will be getting out of the military and having been "in" myself for 24 years (brat/wife) I'm a little nervous about the stability of the civilian world. I'm certain we'll be fine, but what a joy it will be to start our new journey with absolutely no debt and a bit of a cushion to fall back on if need be.

By the way, we will be making the phone call to Dave Ramsey to scream: WE'RE DEBT FREEEEEEEE!!! Any ideas on a photo to remember the day?

something I said I'd never do

2009-08-18T15:14:00.000-07:00

I clearly remember my precious niece sitting in the exact same high chair at my house mere days before our precious girl was born. I recall thinking to myself, "I can not believe that my sister is letting her child have free reign of that yogurt cup at only 18 months of age. I'll never do that with my child!"

And here we are, almost 19 months from that day, as I take photographs of my very own child doing exactly what I said "I'd never" allow her to do!

I seem to remember my niece making quite a bit less of a mess than her cousin!

What have you done lately with your kiddos that, before having the pleasure of being faced with the situation yourself, you said you'd never do?

Not Me! Monday

2009-08-17T11:39:00.000-07:00

Half Pint has decided that she loves "boo bay-yees." This has helped wonderfully in keeping our little girl regular. There is no way that I gave her blueberries with every meal for one day. And there is absolutely no way that I would bring her dirty diaper to her father, because it was 99% blueberry and smelled as such! That is SUPER icky and I would never do such a thing. Yick!

I'm doing great at keeping with my grocery budget. It was not me that you saw leaving the house to buy D.oritos and Dr P.epper to have with wings after I had just gotten home from my routine/once-a-week grocery trip. Nope! I plan my grocery list out ahead of time and knew just what we needed. Besides, we do not eat D.oritos or drink Dr P.epper. Those things are bad for you.

The above mentioned D.oritos were not consumed less than 24 hours after purchase. They were never here in the first place.

I did not try to make my 19 month old child go to bed without dinner because she detested the eggplant I made for dinner. I realize that she's way too young to understand that. I fed her leftovers from the other night. I was not the one who called my mother to see if I should give her those leftovers. Nope, not me!

Are you embarrassed because you blew your nose in your shirt just before you were going to wash it anyway. Feel terrible for not brushing your child's teeth, again. Not me! Monday was created out of MckMama's desire to admit some of her imperfections and reveal a few moments she'd rather forget. You may find it therapeutic to join in and do the same.

menu planning

2009-08-16T19:46:00.000-07:00

In an effort to continue to save money in our household, I've decided to get more serious about menu planning. When hubby and I first got married, I wrote out the dinner menu on Sunday evening, made a list and got to shopping on Monday for all of the ingredients. I have since learned that this isn't the most cost effective method to menu planning. There was always some obscure ingredient that was never on sale and had to be added to every other meal. I've been able to find some "stealin' deals" and I try to make my menu out of what I already have. Or at least that's what I'm going to start doing this week!

I'm just putting down a rough idea, nothing stringent that must be followed in order. If we don't feel like chicken one night, I'll make something else off the list. (I'm sure you get the idea)

BREAKFAST:
whole wheat waffles
cereal
egg/toast
oatmeal w/raisins

LUNCH:
cheese sticks/tomatoes
chicken sandwiches
leftover chicken wings
yogurt/blueberries
veggies/cheese/crackers

DINNER:
taco burgers
broccoli cheese soup
bean/cheese burritos
quinoa/black beans
papa murphy's (??) *we'll see how far I get with this one! it's worth a shot
leftovers x 2

OK, so that was easy enough. Now I have the stuff already and no guess work until having to come up with another menu. What are you eating this week?

belly button

2009-08-15T21:36:00.000-07:00

Tonight while putting Half Pint to bed I asked, "where is you belly button?"

She put her finger into her belly button, pushed (relatively) hard and replied, "Awww gong!"

_______________

I really do think about blogging often, does that count for anything?

_______________

Starting to become accustomed to having only one vehicle. I've decided that if hubby can hitch a ride once a week, or I take him in, then I will survive. The kiddo and I have been doing lots of running/walking and playing to keep us busy. Half Pint has decided she really likes "cooooking" with her plastic spoon and plastic food container. Most of the time, she's making "brocaffi, ha caukie, wader." She's a trip!

______________

Lately, aside from cooking, A is really enjoying reading books, wrapping "bay doll"s in (dry) wipes, dancing, and singing OH! and lest we forget running around "nakee" after bath time. With keeping her so well hydrated that time has come to a close immediately after "kinkle"-ing on the rug in her room. She loves "yohgoh, ahhmeal, mealk, and boo-bayyees."

______________

And with as random as this post is, it is now being brought to a close.

watermelon and humidity

2009-08-02T21:28:00.000-07:00

An example of what icky humidity does to a perfectly good camera.

Hubby was a little surprised when I said this was the first watermelon I'd ever purchased. What a good choice! super juicy

Watermelon is best enjoyed outside naked, and since that was a little obscene for me, I only got pictures of the baby!

finding things to fill our day

2009-07-22T16:57:00.000-07:00

such as...

creating fun styles with hair bows

and reading to our stuffed dog.

What did you do today?

good, bad and could get ugly

2009-07-21T19:39:00.000-07:00

good: our debt is just about paid off

bad: we got into debt in the first place

good: my husband has returned home from a 6 month deployment

bad: we only have one vehicle

good: we have a car at all

bad: I'm stuck at home until he's done with work

good: we're saving on gas money

bad: no more random, time-filling trips to T.arget

good: I'll be blogging more

bad: you'll be hearing from me a lot more

nice camera

2009-07-21T19:36:00.000-07:00

"I'd really like to have it, Mom!"

the perfect travel toy?

2009-07-21T19:24:00.001-07:00

...tampons of course!

I had thrown the last toy within reach to the back seat and then she began to fuss. On hours 13-22 of a 29 hour trip; what do I give her now?! I opened the center console and there was a bag of tampons. What could be more fun? Fun wrapper and 3 or 4 different parts to dismantle.

empty, bottomless bottle

2009-07-21T19:11:00.000-07:00

Today I was making a toy for my little one to play with outside. You start with a plastic bottle and cut the bottom off of it. After cutting the bottom off, I handed it to Aislynn because I needed to get a couple of other things ready before I completed the make-shift bubble maker. When I had gotten everything in place I wanted the bottle back to finish creating the toy. Aislynn did not want to give it up. She thought what she had was pretty cool and didn't want it taken away. After quite a bit of coaxing, I got it back. I finished everything up and we started making bubbles. How much more exciting were the bubbles than the silly empty, bottomless bottle? Lots more exciting!

That got me thinking...

How often do we do the same with the life that God has given to us. We walk around with empty unfulfilled lives. Not wanting to give them back to Him because we think we really like what we've made for ourselves while He was preparing things for us. Little do we know, when we give our lives back to Him, the wonders He can work with that empty, bottomless bottle that will bring so much more joy and fulfillment.

Proverbs 8:35 "For whoever finds me finds life, and obtains favor from the Lord."

Not Me! Monday

2009-07-13T19:30:00.000-07:00

....and I'm back! After lots and lots of traveling and lots and lots of...umm...other stuff that I'm sure I'll get to around here, we are finally home! I'm hoping we'll be here for at least a couple of months, but others in this household may have differing opinions. We'll just have to see about that.

I so did not have to run upstairs and get my list of crazy happenings to put on here. I'm not that neurotic...not me!

We were away from home for a number of months. Many things went on around here whilst we were gone. I certainly did not come home to mice! No way! Only people that live in poorly insulated trailers have mice...my home is immune to such atrocities!

Before leaving my parents my mom bought a big container of jelly beans. I was waiting on my mother in the parking lot of a store and enjoying a few. There is no way that I'm finicky (yes, that's a word) enough to take a small bite of a bean and throw it out the window when I didn't care too much for the taste. Nope, not me, I would never. (Who on earth likes popcorn, and coconut flavored jelly beans anyway?!)

I am quite a wonderful parent if I do say so myself. That being said there would be no possibility of me trying to woo my child into her car seat on a long trip with above mentioned jelly beans. Nope, not me! If there is something my child ought to do, by golly, I make her do it. No if, ands, or buts about it.....ha.

In being such a wonderful parent, I would never purchase something that my child will not let go of in a store just to keep her from ~~pitching a royal fit~~ complaining loudly. That, my friend is still on my list of "I would never..."

We went to MckyD's after a yard sale or two. I got Half Pint a fruit and yogurt dealy (yes, another word around here today). Of course she didn't want to eat it inside. She would rather just play with it in her car seat. I'm not that much of a fanatic to eat an entire parfait in one bite just so she could play with the spoon and cup...not me. In my defense, I did have to be quick about it, have I told you what she does when she's unhappy?!

I went to a place in town to get a pedicure. I love the whole experience and can count on one hand the number of times I've gotten a pedicure. I really enjoy the massage chairs. I did not look around expecting a hidden camera to be on me for some sort of joke when the massage chair started to massage my derriere. I also found it hard to hold back the laughter when the poor unsuspecting girl sat down next to me and got her first little bump from the chair and look around much like I did, desperate to find the button to turn that feature OFF.

Be sure to jump over to MckMama's blog and have a ripsnortin' good time (yes, another) reading about what other's did not do this week!

Please Pray For Stellen

2009-06-18T21:50:00.000-07:00

I'm sure most of you have noticed the button on the right side of my blog to pray for Stellen. You can click on that button to see current updates on his situation.

Today, Stellen's little heart is having a rough time. He suffers from a heart condition known as SVT (an irregular beat).

To my knowledge he's been in SVT for 9 hours now.

Please pause for just a moment before you mop, change out another load of laundry, head to the store, and lift him up to the Lord. As I type this, they are trying to sedate him which is making him angry.

I know first hand from a mother's point of view how it feels to see your child struggle with sedation. Be sure to lift up his mother, Jennifer, as well.

Tomorrow be sure to exercise a little more patience, show a little more love, and be a little more thankful for your own healthy children.

fear

2009-06-17T21:34:00.000-07:00

Not really being a "morning person" I normally wake when my child wakes me (normally around 7 or 7:30). The other morning I rolled over at 8:45am. "Wow, she's still asleep," I thought to myself.

Then fear started creeping in...

what if something happened

something is not right

she's started to cry, I didn't hear her

something is wrong

Very quickly a verse came to mind: Philippians 4:6-7 "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."

I repeated this verse twice and a peace came over me and then I began to hear in the distance...

"ouuuhht, ouuuht." (out, out)

Peace.

I told God I was worried, He gave me peace.

never

2009-06-12T19:55:00.000-07:00

Making such a mess while remaining a lady with her pinkie out.

With summer time comes....ice cream! This is one of those things, even if asked even a couple of months ago, I would have said, "I'd never!" I'd never allow my child to make such a mess. I'd never hand my child chocolate (melts) with ice cream (melts) inside. I'd never!

baby steps toward financial freedom

2009-06-12T13:19:00.000-07:00

Debt has been weighing us down for way too long! This year we have gotten pretty intense about paying down debt. After starting FPU we've finally found a direction in which to take our finances. We have had much success with Dave Ramsey's baby steps.

Step 1: ~~$1,000 Emergency Fund~~ This is to help with the anxiety of cutting up credit cards. "What if there's an emergency?" Now you have cash in a savings account to cover most emergencies.

**Step 2: Eliminate Debt using the debt snowball. List your debts and pay them off from smallest to greatest.
~~credit card #1~~
~~credit card #2~~
~~credit card #3~~
~~credit card #4~~
~~credit card #5~~
vehicle loan

We are almost done with baby step two. I've been almost crazy with paying it off, but still able to live! We set aside a certain amount per month for each of us to spend on whatever we want. After that amount is gone, it's gone! With a zero balanced budget every dollar has a name. That means at the end of the month there is a balance of zero dollars. (Or at least that is the goal.) If there is a balance, that is sent to debt. Currently we should be out of debt by October of this year! Wahoo!

Step 3: 3-6 Months Expenses in Savings (will be a lot less when we are debt free!)

Step 4: Invest 15% of Income for Retirement Thankfully we have about 13% that we are investing right now. Thanks to my husband for setting that up through his job. This will get kicked up a notch when we get to this step.

Step 5: College Funding Put money into a fund for our children's college. Our children may or may not be informed of this as I think they might work harder if they have to contribute something to their education as well. (I'd love you hear your thoughts on this one.)

Step 6: Pay off Home Early This might be a little different for us. As we might be selling our house very soon, we are planning to rent for a couple of years and save as much cash to put either a large down payment or skip the loan altogether and pay cash for a home.

Step 7: Build Wealth and Give What a wonderful place to be!!

Looking at our finances with these goals ahead of us, actually makes financial freedom seem more attainable.

A goal that I would like to set now, with all ~~three~~ of you as my witness: to update monthly to let you all know what step we are working to get through and to create new goals often. I'm doing this in hopes to keep ourselves moving and maybe give some of you a little motivation and to show you that it is possible to live debt free!

one legged platypus

2009-06-12T08:55:00.000-07:00

I've never been considered a "picture of grace."

Before going through the car wash the other day, I was reminded of the stroller in the bed of the truck. I thought I would pull it out of the bed and pop it into the truck with the greatest of ease.

(Did I mention there was an attendant at the car wash?)

I pulled the stroller out pretty well. The trouble came with "popping" the stroller into the cab of the truck.

Somewhere I miscalculated.

All of it is kind of a blur...

I'm pretty sure the stroller hit something and the other end hit my face. With glasses now on the side of my face, I recalculated and put the stroller into the seat beside me. Positioned myself correctly into my seat, repositioned my glasses and proceeded forward to the car wash.

To the attendant, "You didn't see anything!"

I'm dreaming of...

2009-06-11T23:03:00.000-07:00

a new camera. This really was a gorgeous sunset. My camera really didn't capture the color. Time to start savin'! Any suggestions??

if the shirt fits...

2009-06-11T22:55:00.000-07:00

....wear it!

it all started...

2009-06-07T20:51:00.000-07:00

this morning we got to church a couple of minutes late. Then I was sitting in church and got a few misleading text messages from my mother, in town at the time helping some friends with the labor/delivery of their first child. Left in a hurry to go into town only to find out it was church drama and not the baby being born that was the issue.

Thankfully, the baby is just fine.*

Made it to the hospital and was able to get some fresh clothes to mom and visit for a moment. I needed to get home to cook the jambalaya I had promised for our small group, but I only had 3 or 4 diapers left. After seeing an awesome deal at C.VS, I thought I would stop there and get diapers for less than a dime per diaper. Of course I get there and the E.CBs wouldn't print. Trying to figure out how to show the manager where I saw the sale was taking up precious time only to return the package that I bought in the first place. Was I thinking of what I would do after I got through the 3 or 4 diapers? Nope! Left there and headed home. Then I receive a call from hubby with not so great news. Now he thinks he won't come home as soon as he thought. Boo! As I speak with him....'beep-beep' "Low Fuel" Shocker! We are dealing only in cash, and I didn't want to have to go inside while talking on my phone. And you with children understand, that's not always an option. Blah! Had to use the debit card. Throw off my budget a little not a big deal.

Full tank, back on the road...home to make jambalaya.*

Half Pint fell asleep just as we were pulling into town.

Thankfully, taking her out of the car and putting her right into bed for a nap was successful.*

Now to get started cooking. "Mom got a new food processor, that will help save time," I thought. "This is silly, I can't get it to work.....this is really frustrating, I still can't get this to work....alright, this is tickin' me off....dumb machine!" Out with the processor, in with the old fashioned knife. And when I say old fashioned, I mean old fashioned. I might as well have let my daughter cut the veggies with her rubber coated spoons. In my failed attempt to make a super dull 90 year old kitchen knife work like Rachael Ray's santoku knife, I ended up hitting my head on the above hanging cast iron skillet too many times. And then of course in my vigorous chopping, ended up knocking the bowl for the food processor off of the counter...and now it's in at least 10 more pieces than it started out today.

Fortunately, the crash/bang and the "oh ~~bother~~ s*^@!" didn't wake the baby.*

I burned some of the rice and ended up kicking up a scoop full of rice onto the stove as I tried to give it all a stir.

I did get the jambalaya cooked and edible.*

We were about 15 minutes late ~~for~~ with dinner.

The night ended well with a great dinner with wonderful friends!*

*All of the things from my day that I've decided to focus on.

stepping out a little more

2009-06-06T09:54:00.000-07:00

During our (mom, sis, nephews & myself) haircuts the other day I kept asking God to give me an opportunity to talk with our hairdresser (we'll call her Suzi) about Him. At 3:16pm all three of our cell phone alarms went off.

**In a sermon a few weeks ago, the preacher told us to set our alarms for (John) 3:16 everyday. When your alarms goes off, stop and pray for those that don't have a close relationship with the Father.**

Perfect opportunity!

Of course she asks why all of our phones are going off at once. My sis tells her that at 3:16 our
preacher said to pray for someone.

(The following is a conversation I am having in my head with my sister.)

"Someone? Someone?! Not just someone! The lost...those that don't know the Lord." This carries on for a few moments and away goes my opportunity, the conversation had moved on to something else. After every last strand was chopped, we began to walk out the door.

Suzi says she has no idea what to do now as she finished with us very early. Then she goes on to say that we should pray for her at 3:16 every day this week as she would be going through many tests. Suzi has gone through several bouts with cancer and her tumor markers have gone up; they have to find out why this week. Immediately I think, "pray with her. Right now, pull her aside and pray with her for her week ahead."

All the while, I keep walking. With every step thinking:

Stop.

Pray.

With.

Her.

You asked for an opportunity, here it is. Pray with her.

Unfortunately I didn't not listen and just kept walking. "Kicking" myself all the while. Well, we get to the street corner and mom's phone rings...it's Suzi.

"Who has a red phone?"

Me.

I'm the one with the red phone that I never leave because that's the only way that I can receive calls from my husband many miles away.

I never leave it and that day I did.

I went back and explained to her what all was going on in my head throughout the appointment and the few moments afterward. I cried with her, prayed for her week and for peace for her through it all. If only I had listened the first time, what blessing it was!

If you could pause for a moment when you read this and send up a prayer for Suzi as she goes through all of this testing. Amazing how God works, don't you think?

Not Me! Monday

2009-06-01T09:00:00.000-07:00

Now for the only reason most of you check my blog:

If you haven't done so already, check out the blog that started it all.

My little girl has a pretty good appetite and will eat just about anything. It was not me that allowed her to eat a piece of dog food. That would just be icky. There's no way I'd expect my child not to like it and spit it out. I guess we now know that she will eat anything.

I went running the other day. It was not only the third or fourth time since the baby was born. Nope, I have run every day since the day I ran a half marathon at one month pregnant. It's not me that you saw huffing and puffing after having run 3 blocks, nope, wasn't me!

That person you saw huffing and puffing was the one that stopped off at her mom's house and ate a donut just after her run, not me. I always eat very healthy, especially after a good run. I would never ruin that run by such an unhealthy breakfast.

There might be some out there that would consider me graceful. As far as mobility goes, that might be a stretch! While sitting down stairs with my mom the phone rang. I "jumped" up to answer the phone. There is no way that my feet were trapped in my pants. Therefore, I did not fall flat on my face with my foot still in my hand trying to free my foot from my pants. Not me! Graceful I tell you, graceful! And just a note, the phone only rang once....

With watching our spending, I know how much we pay for just about everything. I've gotten (name brand) diapers for around $0.22 per diaper. The other day I was 30 minutes from putting A in the bath, and her diaper was soiled. I went downstairs and got a new diaper and put it on her for that half hour before her bath. There's no way I'd let my child run around outside without a diaper on for that long. I'm not that cheap, not me!

My poor child has some b.owel issues. If I don't pay close attention to what my child eats, she has rather large b.owel m.ovements. Unfortunately, with being away from the house all day for the last couple of days, her diet has not been the best. There is no way that I told my brother-in-law to "look 'fore I flush it." That's just.....redneck! Never, not me! (maybe it was the dog food.) Blech!

Now that I totally put my relationship with my child on the line (for a few reasons), maybe you should share something from your week. You know, that something that made you think, "No one's ever done this before and there's no way I could tell anyone that just happened." I'm proof that chances are it has happened to me. Or no matter how bad you think your story is, I've got something gross-er or more embarrassing. Please share! ~~I won't tell!~~

another great photo

2009-05-31T21:13:00.000-07:00

blah, blah, blah for blogger

2009-05-30T21:18:00.000-07:00

Sadly, blogger isn't allowing me to load pictures the way that it normally does. This is just a taste of the photo session that we had with my aunt last week. I will keep trying to load the rest, but things aren't looking good for tonight.

swimming pool

2009-05-29T20:55:00.000-07:00

The weather here has been awesome for the last couple of days. We decided to pull out the pool and fill it up for the kids today. A good time was had by all. Half Pint actually left her hat and flip flops on until nap time.

After viewing this photo, how many of you believe that I was whooping and hollering for the kids to look my direction?

Computer Viruses and Such

2009-05-29T20:26:00.001-07:00

I really do have a good excuse for not posting in the last few days. Mom and dad's computer has a virus. :( Or at least that's what we think right now. Unfortunately, contrary to popular belief, I do not know how to fix computers, so dormant it remains until we figure out what to do with it. My grandmother recently purchased a laptop that she's not using. Fortunately she's been willing to let us use it for the time being. So here's new pictures for those of you ~~going through withdrawals~~ wanting to see how she's grown after having to go over one whole week without pictures. After my seizure/breath-holding update, little bit has decided to come a ton closer to passing out. I have to remind myself that the doctor said putting her on her back would greatly decrease her chances of having a seizure not the chances of passing out. I have finally decided: one episode=nap. Normally she doesn't get that upset if she's had a good nap or is fed on time 3 times a day with snacks in between. Unfortunately, sour attitudes with late feedings run in our family. I'm sure she gets that from her Auntie K, surely not me! After napping a feed option is then available. Aside from all that, our little princess is doing quite well.

Her hair gets longer by the minute. The other day I put all of her hair in two ponies. For those of you with boys, this is a big accomplishment...well, that makes it sound like something one of us did. hmm... Sadly, I did not capture that "accomplishment" on film, but I plan to put her hair up again tomorrow and I plan to take a picture. We'll see how that goes.

Not Me! Monday

2009-05-25T22:20:00.000-07:00

A little late, but Monday nonetheless. Time for my weekly therapy.

Earlier in the week mom and I went into town. The baby was sleeping and we were hungry. We decided to ~~eat the snacks we had brought along with us~~ go through a drive thru. I did not order anything for my kiddo because I had already fed her before we left the house.

There is no way that I couldn't figure out what was inside of the tiny taquitos that I ~~never~~ ordered for my child. I would not try to feed my child something unrecognizable. Really, put it in my mouth, still have no idea what was in it. Blech!

It was not me that ended up taking my child to the health food store and buying her something she would actually eat. That would be a budget buster, and we are on a strict budget in this household. I would never buy two lunches simply because I couldn't decipher what the first lunch was, nope, not me!

I would never let my child run around without her diaper. I am not so cheap that I didn't want to put a diaper on her for less than 30 minutes before a bath. Budget. People. Budget. In my defense it was above 75 degrees outside and just that, outside.

In an effort to finish paying off our truck we are putting extra $$ every month toward that debt with "Gazelle Intensity." I would never take something like that to extremes and make an extra payment of $12.63. That would just be silly and obsessive. Really, would $12.63 make a difference?!

There's no way I would allow my nephews to eat from under the kid's table at our bible study small group the other day. As soon as I noticed such a thing I immediately put an end to that! Icky, icky. I did not allow them to clean up the floor just so I didn't have to, not me! I've never allowed my child to do the same thing. Nope, not me.

Now that I've "come clean," what have you got to share??

one year ago today...

2009-05-19T21:50:00.000-07:00

OK, that's a lie it was more like 10 months ago. I just really wanted to post this picture. I came across it on mom and dad's computer. I know I always like to reminisce. How about you?

Update on Breath-holding

2009-05-19T21:06:00.000-07:00

Little one seems to be doing very well lately in the fit throwing/breath-holding department. That can be interpreted in many different ways. She's getting really good and throwing fits complete with leg kicking, high-pitched screaming, and breath-holding. Fortunately, she has not so much as passed out since this horrible afternoon over a month ago. I haven't even had to use the squirt bottles from this post. The first time she held her breath after the seizure I was ~~calm cool and collected~~ freaking out. She rolled on the floor and bonked her head at our small group bible study one Sunday night and started to cry. (Let me just say, your first instinct as a mother is to pick up your child crying child to comfort them. Sadly, right now, that's not an option for us. I have to comfort as much as I can crouching over her until she has calmed enough to be held without a fear of breath-holding.) I quickly ran over to her and she soon turned purple. I almost pulled the lid off of her milk and poured it in her face. I did get very close to her face and blow (rather hard) twice, but that seemed to only make her worse. When I ~~calmed down~~ got out of her face, she calmed down and was able to breath again without passing out. Show of hands, how many of you praise your child for breathing? :) (That's a regular occurrence 'round these parts.) God has given me a peace, that no matter what happens, everything will be fine. Since that night she has had less than 5 episodes and all of them ended with a deep breath followed by more crying (not glazed eyes and disorientation). Praise God! I don't know how many of you have ever had to go through breath-holding this severe with your children, but it's not something I would classify as thrilling or even fun. Putting her flat on her back makes a world difference. If you deal with this or know someone that does, please tell them that when their child begins to hold their breath: LAY THEM ON THE FLOOR! Flat on their back and there their little body can get blood and oxygen to all of the right places efficiently. Now that we've figured out how to prevent passing out, any ideas on how to prevent all attitudes ugly and unbecoming of a little lady?

Not Me! Monday

2009-05-18T08:32:00.000-07:00

I'm certain that this week's post is not nearly as ~~graphic and disgusting~~ icky as the last. But I will give you a head's up if it starts to go in that direction!

There is no way that I can't remember the last time I brushed my child's teeth. I brush them every night before I put her in bed. I've never sat rocking her thinking, "Dog gone it! I've forgotten again!" Whatever, for a long time she didn't even have teeth; don't judge me!

I am terrible at never sending a card or gift for a birthday/holiday/anniversary. I totally did not remember almost a month ahead of time to buy a birthday present for a friend's little girl...I need to take a moment and just soak that one in myself! (We'll just see at what point it ends up in the mail.)

I have a nerdy little accordion file in which I keep all of our bills/important paper work. Every now and then I go through it and pull out papers that no longer need to be "kept on file." I think I cleaned it out....oh....at least a month ago or possibly longer. It is so not piled here next to my right arm as I type because I haven't taken it out to shred it. Nope, I would never. I am very well organized and on top of things. (insert hysterical laughter here)

At the gas station (pahhhaaahhaaa) after pumping gas (aaahhhaaaha) I ran inside to pay for the gas (eeehhhehaaa) I'd just pumped. I did not decide that there was no one within a certain radius and that it was safe to ~~fart~~ ~~toot~~ fluff. I did not very quickly realize that there was a gentleman in the only direction that I hadn't looked sitting with his window down in his van. Fart?! Please, I'm a lady!

Well, from farting to filing, boogers to babies I feel as though you should all know me a bit more by now. It would make me feel better if you'd share something as well. Feel free to make your own post, or just click on the comment link below and tell me about what you didn't do this week. (You don't have to have a blog to be able to comment, just do so anonymously and type your name into the comment.) However, if you do have a blog you can take it one step further. Make your post and hop over to MckMama's blog by clicking here and join in the fun with hundreds of other women ~~not willing to admit fault~~ sharing stories of perfection from their week.

The Two of Us Willingly Photographed

2009-05-13T21:38:00.000-07:00

My sis grabbed the camera and snapped some pics of the two of us. I don't really like getting my picture taken lately, but my hubby made a special request. Unfortunately, at this moment I do not believe the internet is working all that well for him. Fortunately, this will be ready and waiting for him when the internet does decide to work again.

Ready for Church

2009-05-13T21:29:00.000-07:00

Check out those curls!

I'm not sure if it was just the dress, but she looks so grown up.

This is one for those of you that think she doesn't act up.

Not Me! Monday (not for those with delicate stomachs)

2009-05-11T10:00:00.000-07:00

If this is your first time viewing a Not Me! Monday post, ~~hold on to your hat, this one might be a little icky~~ you might want to click here to find all of the rules, then click here and join in the fun. MckMama started all of this and it's a blast! In a not-so-direct way, tell everyone the things you've done recently but wouldn't readily admit. If you see me face-to-face, I will deny all of this to the very end!

There is absolutely no way I pulled a piece of thread out of my child's derriere. My child is fed very well and does not need to turn to her favorite blanket for sustenance. Blech!! If that were the case there would be no one on Earth who could force me to type such a repugnant statement here.

I was trying to be of help around the house the other day. I had picked up the dining area and decided that the table appeared a little dirty and needed to be wiped down. I proceeded to pick up the rag out of the sink. The same rag that I had used moments earlier to wipe the face and hands of my child. A booger did not appear on the table after the first swipe of the cloth!! Sorry just typing that made me ~~throw up a little in my mouth~~ shiver.

My sis, my mom and I were sitting in the living room with my little one the other afternoon. My twin nephews were off playing around the corner as boys often do. (Silence always concerns a mother.) Sis walked around the corner and called for help. It was not for the fact that they had just "popped" the tops off of three P.edialax liquid suppositories and consumed them all within a 90 second time-frame. Nope. She just needed me to take my child out of her arms because her boys brought her said liquid suppositories unopened and told her they had been left out on the counter. (No worries- poison control said they'd be ~~quite regular~~ juuuussst fine.)

By the way, I would never have been the one to leave the suppositories in question out on the counter. With toddlers around, I understand just how important it is to have those sorts of things totally out of reach!

Wow, I really didn't intend on this post containing such unpleasantries! Your sharing doesn't have to be nearly as icky, but if that's the week you've had: What can ya do?!

Ain't she cute?!

2009-05-08T22:48:00.000-07:00

Call me crazy, but it's workin'!

2009-05-08T13:57:00.000-07:00

If you have not heard of Dave Ramsey: Check. Him. Out. For the last 13 weeks (OK a few less than that, I missed the first 3 classes) I have been attending Financial Peace University (FPU). We are absolutely thrilled with what has been happening in our financial lives right now. Have we been making oodles more money?...nope! We have finally decided to take charge of our finances instead of letting them take charge of us. No matter what amount of money you or your family takes in per month, every penny can always be spent. It takes true discipline and focus to be able to pay down debts and save for your future. I really believe that FPU gives you the knowledge, tools, intensity and so much more to be able to take charge of your finances.

Both hubby and I have listened to Dave Ramsey since the beginning of our marriage; thinking he had wonderful ideas, but never focusing enough to do anything with our own finances. Living paycheck to paycheck and more by putting things on credit every now and then, I must admit that we have kept our debts down, not getting nearly into as big of a mess as most people our age. These past weeks have gotten me back on track being the main conductor of our financial orchestra...OK maybe it's more like the one man band on Mary Poppins than an orchestra, but that is not the point. I must admit, when I began working at W.ells F.argo a few years ago I slowly stopped keeping a check register and just hopped online everyday at work to find out what was in the account. After quiting, I kept the same habit; jumping onto the computer daily to see how much was left. As some of you may know this is not a great practice for several reasons. There will be checks that are written that may be forgotten or not cashed immediately after being written allowing you to believe there is more money. Simply keeping a register up to date makes me sleep lots better at night.

"Be diligent to know the state of your flock, and attend to your herds." Proverbs 27:23

I have also become a strong advocate for budgeting. A budget is something that we always thought needed to be done, but never ventured any further than writing out what comes in and goes out. I never knew where to start and always wondered if we had X amount after our "necessities". . . ."Where did it all go?" Since week 3 or 4 of our classes we have written a zero balance budget at the start of every month. Every dollar has a name. A tool that helps in keeping that budget is the envelope system. (cash envelopes for individual spending, gas, clothes, food, etc) Spending cash makes you feel like your actually spending money, where as swiping a card barely registers and you tend to spend 12-18% more when using plastic. An amount for each category is determined and that's all the money placed in the envelope. So far, so good. We have gone over in a couple of areas and under in others. Budgeting usually takes around 3 months to perfect, so next month should be about right.

"May he give you the desires of your heart and make all your plans succeed." Psalm 20:4

If you sit down and figure out how much money you have leaving your accounts simply to pay back debt, that figure can sometimes be breath-taking. We live in a culture that says, you deserve it. Well I have figured out in taking FPU that if we can't afford it, we don't deserve it. If we can't afford ~~the payments for it~~ to pay cash for it, we don't get it. That is a hard thing to learn lately. Telling ourselves "no" now, so once we are out of debt, able to give more, fund our retirement and kids' college we can tell ourselves "yes" more often. Since January 1st of this year we have begun to pay down our debts. If we keep going in the same direction as of late, we will be out of debt before the end of the year. What an exciting thing to ~~say~~ type!

"Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law." Romans 13:8

I hope this in some way encourages you to take charge of the money that passes through your account. I know from experience, it's freeing!

"In the house of the wise are stores of choice food and oil, but a foolish man devours all he has." Proverbs 21:20

Feeling Better

2009-05-04T21:17:00.000-07:00

Until last week, I didn't know that croup was a real virus. I thought that's what old ladies said when kids had bad coughs. For those of you that were like me...it really does exist! Little bit went to bed a little crab the other night and woke up a big crab. She had a pretty high fever and

wheezing when she would inhale. The wheezing worried my mother and me enough that I decided to take her in to see the doctor. Sure enough, when we got to the doc her oxygen saturation was at 58% (for those of you medically inclined the monitor was placed on her just after they checked her temp in her ear, not very happy! have I mentioned she likes to hold her breath when she's ticked?) and this worried me a bit, but it went up and sat around the low 90's for the rest of the visit once she calmed down. She was having a hard time getting her breaths in, though. He said that the wheezing tells you that it is croup which (in regular people terms) means that her throat was inflamed. He gave me a steroid, advice to live by for the next few days and sent us home. She's did pretty well, if you don't count the almost 10 times that she held her breath! I simply put her flat on her back on the floor and she didn't so much as pass out! Wahoo! Very encouraging, however, still scares the snot out of me. After a few days of being very clingy and taking lots of naps (thanks, Lord) she's doing much better today. Still a little wheezing, but no fever and able to play. I was able to capture a few photos this afternoon playing outside with the boys. Enjoy!

Good observation! This one wasn't outside, but the rest...

Not Me! Monday

2009-05-04T10:03:00.001-07:00

It's that time again. Where I make public the actions that very well should be kept quiet!

This week I most certainly did not get SUPER excited when MckMama mentioned me in one of her posts. I have not shown everyone in the house and those that walk through the front door the post that mentioned my blog. That would be a little obsessive of me. If I had, it would only be because she's like...famous...she's been on TV! The local news at 6 and 10, but TV nonetheless. (there were 1285 comments and I was one of 15 she chose, I'm just sayin')

I did not get frustrated when my wee one threw everything on the floor that I put in front of her these last few days. I understand she really wasn't feeling well and went swiftly to the broom and swept up every last crumb pleasantly. I never would have grumbled and just let it sit until mom's four legged h.oover came back into the house. Nope, not me!

I also never would have let my mother feed my sick child M & M's this weekend. No way! She was sick and that's the last thing she needs. I fed her three all-organic delicious meals and several small snacks every day that she thoroughly enjoyed!

I heard my mother come down the stairs while little bit and I were napping. Unfortunately mom's insane chocolate lab woke my child and myself up bounding across the floor above us. I did not lie there hoping that my mother would hear my child's cries and come to get her out of bed for me. Nap, I don't nap! I was ready and waiting for her to awaken while mopping floors, washing dishes and accomplishing all of the days chores before 10 am. Proverbs 31 wife: that's me!

Feel free to hop over to MckMama's blog and join in the fun today. Praise God that her son is well enough to be back at home with his family! Also making it possible for MckMama to resume the Not Me! Monday fun. What have you been busy not doing? I would love to hear about it! Especially those of you who never comment, but always read...you know who you are. :)

Not Me! Monday

2009-04-27T20:53:00.000-07:00

I know, I've been slacking! But for your reading pleasure...

The other day I was squatting down to get something out of my kiddo's suit case. I felt a sneeze coming on and every mother knows that if you sneeze in that position...um...bad things happen. I immediately stood up, therefore avoiding any embarrassing moment. I certainly did not wet my pants! That would never happen to a person over the age of five, especially not to me!

In an effort to save money I have been finding/organizing/clipping coupons. I love a good deal, but I always eat healthy and just because you get something free does not mean you have to get/eat it. I saw a coupon for a free root beer float at A & W. I did not print it out and go just before my FPU class tonight to get that and the free chicken they were giving away at K.FC today. I thought ahead and ate a healthy and nutritious meal at home, of course!

I believe that you have to be assertive with your children starting at a small age. That being said, my child never pitches a fit and gets her way. That was not me that you saw walking home with my child in my arms from the church parking lot. When she started ~~thrashing wildly about~~ firmly voicing her opinion that she didn't want to be put in her car seat, I simply buckled her into her car seat anyway and we drove the short distance home. (I am still a little gun shy....I'm choosing my battles!)

I did not buy a squirt bottle with the intent of using it on my child's face. There is something cruel about shooting a child in the face with water when they are crying. I would never do such a thing. Nope, not me!

What kinds of things did you do throughout the last week, that you found yourself thinking, "What?! Noooo, I didn't just do that!" Do share.

Tuckered Out

2009-04-25T19:37:00.000-07:00

This little girl played hard at the brunch today. This was after just two minutes in the car.

And don't worry, the car was stopped when I took these pictures of her because I had gotten out to take these.

Isn't it B-E-A-U-tiful?! It will be hard to get me away from this place.

Montana Horses

2009-04-25T19:14:00.001-07:00

This is really cool! I think it's the first year I've actually been in town to see it. They run the horses from one spot in the state to another and mom and dad's town in on their route. It's a pretty big deal in this small town. A family we know always has a big brunch out at their house every year and the horses run right in front. They actually take the horses to be "hired out" for the summer. They are very large and powerful animals, so I got a little nervous with so many of them running in front of me. A pretty cool sight, though. Thought I'd share...

Squirt Bottles

2009-04-21T22:37:00.000-07:00

Our follow-up appointment with the pediatrician was this morning. It went very very well. I was quite pleased with the whole experience. I could go on to write a long post about socialized heath care right now, but that's not why I'm posting and definitely not the purpose of this blog....I digress... Today was very informative. We now know that a seizure is a possibility. Is there also a possibility that my precious child will never seize again? Yes. Fortunately, the doctor took the time to explain to me how to try to avoid the breath-holding in turn, avoiding another seizure. There could always be the chance of something happening (i.e. bumping of noggin, stubbing of toe, etc....) that breath-holding is a very real possibility. However, there are times when her attitude simply gets the best of her. Our options at that point are: getting a cold cloth and placing that on her neck, forcefully puffing air into her face at close proximity, anything that may startle her would very likely make her take a breath. It has been suggested to me to "fling" water into her face by a couple of different people. My question to the doctor: Is this helpful, harmful, or just cruel? Her response was: Don't feel bad about a little water in her face when you know the alternative.

My reaction? I give to you exhibit A:

This will be filled with plain filtered water, kept in close proximity at all times, and (yes) shot in the face of my ~~screaming toddler~~ poor defenseless child. I will be fashioning a holster of sorts to keep this "on me" at all times. There will be another placed in her diaper bag for times when she's left with others and the importance of using it will be stressed until she is to the point that the breath-holding is far FAR behind her. An encouraging note, often kids that induce a seizure with breath-holding will be scared out of ever doing it again. The unfortunate thing about that statement, we have an extremely strong willed child who began her breath-holding plight at a mere 6 months of age; very early for a condition such as this. With that being said, she's more than likely not old enough to have any clue about what has taken place. If you have been a witness to one of her episodes you can be certain she's not doing any of this purposefully. There you have it, how to prevent breath-holding in a child. As I mentioned earlier, these episodes are not 100% preventable. What then??

If she does in fact stop breathing, we have been instructed to lay her gently onto the floor for two reasons. The first: making a behavioral statement, when you act like this you are not going to be coddled (keep in mind, 85% of the time she's ticked). The second: it is what is medically best for her. In the supine (face up flat on your back) position the heart has the advantage to pump plenty of blood and oxygen to the deprived brain resulting in decreased odds of any seizure activity. And further on from that...what if that doesn't prevent the seizure? Then we are to place her onto her right side, preventing aspiration if vomiting does occur. Normally they tell people that after someone has been seizing for 5 minutes call 9-1-1. With our being 35 miles from the nearest hospital and having a volunteer ambulance, the moment and seizing begins we've been instructed to call immediately. She also said that if it goes over 5 minutes again and she stops on her own, still take the ambulance to the ER. They have the oxygen that she might need, they'd be able to evaluate her and be in close contact with a doctor at the hospital.

If all of this sounds a bit scary that's because....it is! And in scary situations, you need to know just what to do. I feel confident in what the doctor has told me and less terrified of one of these episodes coming on again. I will still continue to pray that she will grow out of this quickly. And will always be cautious when she starts to cry for any reason. As for the EEG the results came back perfectly, well as far as the pediatrician and neurologist are concerned...a psycologist may have a differing opinion! Keep in mind, my husband and I are her biological parents.

By the way...I need a baby sitter next weekend. Anyone interested?

I am...

2009-04-19T19:13:00.001-07:00

...copying someone else's idea for a post.

...thinking you should all click here, check out her blog and pray diligently for her child (having surgery Tuesday).

...so thankful that my child is 100% again.

...nervous now every time she cries.

...writing down every question that comes to mind to ask the doctor at the appointment this week.

...greatly missing my husband.

...wondering what the Lord has in store for us in the next year.

...thankful that our finances and my husband's hard work permit me to stay home to care for our child.

...nervous to leave my child with just any babysitter.

...beyond grateful that my child's situation permitted us to leave the hospital after only one night.

...hoping that everyone with healthy well children will count that blessing more than twice.

...trying my hardest to praise the Lord when the storm clouds pass over me.

...really random in my thinking tonight.

...thinking I should help my mother pick up the house with a forecast of 200% chance of 2 year old tomorrow!

Easter Egg Hunt

2009-04-16T21:57:00.000-07:00

Parents of other 0-2 years olds=crazy! You would think it would be the children most anxious to get the eggs. The parents had scoped out the eggs and some had already found the golden egg and were headed straight that direction once the whistle had blown. Ridiculous! Little bit started off strong and new just what to do. She only got about six eggs because when I looked up all of the parents had picked up all of the eggs for their children and put them into their baskets! Oh well...she enjoyed the few eggs that she ended up getting.

Patiently waiting for the "hunt" to begin.

I've got my basket, I'm ready to go!

Look what I got, Botz!

Big Attitudes, Breath-Holding, and Seizing

2009-04-16T20:21:00.000-07:00

I could definitely classify the last 24 hours as the worst hours of my life! As some of you know or may not know, our little girl has episodes of breath-holding. When she gets very upset she will cry hard enough, forget how to breath in and pass out. Normally once she passes out, her little body kicks in and she starts breathing again. Well, the other day her brain had gone just too long without oxygen and blood and she began to seize. When she passed out this time, I immediately picked up the phone and called 9-1-1. Being in a town this small, we only have a volunteer ambulance. It felt like FOREVER for them to get here. In actuality it only took six minutes from the time of my call until their arrival; it felt like at the least 25 minutes! All the while my precious child is still seizing. She seized for a total of 7 minutes at our house and continued to seize on the ambulance on the way into town. We did not have a paramedic on the ambulance to administer the right type of drug to get her body to relax. The ambulance started to drive toward the nearest emergency room (30-35 miles away) while another ambulance with two paramedics heading our direction. Before we were able to meat up with them, her tired tired body just couldn't muster enough strength to simply breath in and out. They ended up having to breath for her for around four minutes. We stopped on the side of the interstate and the paramedics jumped on board and were able to administer a drug to finally help my child's tired body to relax. All they while I was just riding and whispering my love and my husband's love for her into her ear. Praying for a mighty God to help her body to relax and breath.

When we arrived to the hospital and I knew the doctors would be able to help her, I saw my sister waiting there for us and collapsed into her arms. That was the hardest few moments in my life. From there they were able to get x-rays of her lungs to check for fluid, aspirations, etc. She was sent for a CAT scan shortly thereafter. The doctors saw lots of air in her small belly and had to put a small tube into her belly to remove all the air. I was concerned to learn that the paramedic that administered the drug to her, actually gave her twice the amount of the sedative that should have been given for her weight. (That will come into play later in the story.) The doctor said that she would be fine, they would keep and eye on her breathing and she should just sleep an extra amount that night. She ended up waking just a couple of short hours later. Looking toward my sister when her camera phone said, "say, "Cheese!"" She also gave her "Botz" a half smile when she heard his voice. I carried her up to ICU where we spent the night and they were able to keep a sharp eye on her all night. She was hooked up to so many things. She had monitors for her heart, breathing, oxygen levels and she also had a board under her hand to keep her arm stable with the IV in it. They had to poke my poor child several times because her IV was just to small to take any blood from and they needed that line in to be able to administer more drugs if she began to seize again. She did very well all night. She has slept better nights, but with so many things hooked up to her and nurses coming in and out she slept well. I slept not a wink, however. Wanting to know every second if she was doing well, I found myself getting dizzy watching the monitor all night.

She awoke yesterday morning extremely hungry. She had one whole juice bottle and two cups of j.ello before we got word that she could have solid food. My mom ended up feeding her two pieces of french toast, two pieces of bacon, eggs and anything else she could get into her mouth! We expected to get a quick test done and head home. She had to be sedated for a brain wave test called an EEG. The gave her a total of 10 mg of Valium. For her weight 6 mg should be sufficient. (In reference to earlier the night before, she was given a total of 12 mg on the ambulance. I firmly believe that God directed the paramedics hands; had she only gotten 6mg she would have continued to seize even longer and they would have had to administer more once they realized that wouldn't work.) Once my mother finally got her to sleep (I couldn't bare to hold her long enough to get her to sleep) they began to stick the electrodes on her small little head. After about 45 minutes of sleeping she awoke. We ended up having to give her Kettamine. Horrible! I could not be in the room with her. She was tossing and turning, moaning and crying. Her big blue eyes would not focus on anything. Thankfully my parents had just returned from lunch and were able to sit with her as I gathered myself in the waiting room and talked with my aunt and cousin. After finally getting the test out of the way she started to come out of the funk that the drugs caused. When they saw that she was tolerating the drugs well, they told us that she could do the rest of her recovery at home.

We returned here and I was beginning to feel that maybe we should have stayed at the hospital. She was just unhappy. I fed her, bathed her, and tried to comfort her with lotion. I ended up skipping the lotion and giving her a bottle and putting her into bed. She fussed for only a couple of minutes and drifted right off to sleep. She just wanted to be left alone! The poor girl likes her time to herself and had been poked, prodded, strapped down, held up and stimulated way too much for the last 24 hours.

She woke this morning quite tired still. She would wake up for about and hour at a time to raid the pantry and refrigerator, smile for a while and go right back to sleep. She is a little weak still today, but that is understandable after all of the seizing and all she went through after that point. I was able to sleep most of the night last night only waking to my husband's phone call. I even was able to sneak in a nap while she slept today. She went to bed pretty early tonight and I expect that she'll sleep well into the morning hours.

The doctors are confident that it was the breath-holding that kicked her little body into the seizure. We are still waiting on the results of the EEG, but are certain that will come out normally. They have told us that when she does pass out from the breath-holding that we need to lay her down. If we do that we give her body the best chance of getting plenty of blood and oxygen to her deprived little brain. That will greatly decrease her risk of another seizure. Not to say that she will never have another, but the odds will be greatly decreased. Right now we just need to work on the attitude problem that leads to the breath-holding. Unfortunately she got the worst of both parents! We'll see how that goes!

For now, prayers for a perfect EEG and a renewed mind for our little girl and a lesser attitude! (Hey, never hurts to ask for miracles!) As for me, pray for not living a life of fear, but of confidence in my God and also for the tape of this horrible event to stop playing in my mind. And don't forget prayers of praise and thanksgiving that our little girl is now fine and resting peacefully!

Shortly after arriving to the hospital. Lovin' on her dolly.

Hanging out in the waiting room before the therapist came for the EEG.

Unfortunately, my hair didn't look any better than her hair!

Easter 2009

2009-04-16T20:06:00.001-07:00

"....and the tomb was found empty!"

gorgeous baby blues

"Cheese!"

This beautiful dress was actually given to us from a friend in Tennessee. She wore it well! She did have little sandles but they were a little big...her feet looked pretty cute bare, if I do say so myself.

Boys, boys

2009-04-03T20:46:00.000-07:00

My sister's twins are all boy! They just turned two. I thought I could con them into wearing a cute pink hat of my little girl's; they weren't falling for it! This little one realized asking mommy to put this band in his hair was a bad idea, but only a little too late. We were able to get this rare photo. There will be no walking around in heels for these little boys, they are men already! I know it looks like we were holding him down....OK we were, but it was just for a second.

St Patrick's Day Take Two

2009-04-03T20:06:00.000-07:00

My hubby's mom sent this outfit for A to wear on St. Patty's day. She did wear it that day and a couple of days ago, as well. On St. Patty's day she was teething and NOT wanting to be photographed! A couple of days ago I decided to put it back on her and snap a couple of pics.

Captain Destructo!

2009-03-30T22:58:00.000-07:00

While talking with my hubby over the computer, I wanted to keep little bit in the office with me, so I shut the door and locked her in. I guess she didn't like that idea, and tried to make a break for it. Here's the proof:

She pulled of a portion of the floor board (I think that's what that's called) and started digging out the wall. Yes, the insides of the wall is what that white stuff happens to be on the floor.

She finally got my attention when she pulled back this portion of the paper on the wall to gain more access to the "inards" of the wall. Crazy kid!

Letter to Daddy

2009-03-30T22:43:00.000-07:00

Dear Daddy,

Today I colored with my cousin. Mom said I did pretty well, so I'm going to have her send it to you in a box. I LOVED hearing your voice today; I got such a big smile on my face that Mimi and Auntie teared up. I am getting pretty good at my signing. I can sign "eat", "please", "more", "all done", and "please" is the sign I use the most. I had a bath with cousin and showed her how to get your hair washed without crying; she cries sometimes when it's time to get her hair washed; I'm not sure why! I'm really starting to love to dance. I really can't help myself when I hear music and sometimes even when there is no music to be heard. The other day I was crawling out of the living room and just HAD to stop and shake my hiney when Botts' singing mouse started up! I really would like to walk, but I am pretty scared of being too high off the ground. I might just wait until you come back, so I know you'll catch me when I fall! I love you, daddy and miss you lots and lots!

Your beautiful girl!